Faithful Followers

Friday, December 26, 2008

Brooklyn looking like a Binford tool girl wearing high heels while using power tools.

Clay who was thoroughly UNimpressed with the workbench. "I can't make real stuff with it!"

Lex just looking cute

Savannah happy with her music

Jax ready to hit the waves (it's actually a dry erase/magnet board)

Austin eating some beef jerky for breakfast

Here's the difference between your first child and your sixth. See my sister's first child, Dominick, sitting on my mom's lap. He's decked out to the nines for Christmas day - plaid shirt, red sweater vest, black cords and cute little black dress shoes. And then there's my sixth child. Yep, she's wearing an old bathing suit over a diaper for Christmas day.And now you know the difference.

Instead of exchanging gifts, this year we just did a white elephant exchange among the adults. Here my brother-in-law, Sam holds up his white elephant. Literally. My mom sewed that up 2 days ago for the exchange. Everyone's a comedian in my family.

My sister and I always do socks for each other and Deb always comes up with THE MOST AWESOME stuff ever to put in my sock. This year, my favorite was a toss-up between this shirt (Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.) LOVE IT!!!

and......

Penne Dawn! (from the creator of Fusilli Jerry) I LOVE IT! Now, there's not only Fusilli Jerry and Macaroni Midler, but Penne Dawn. PENne Dawn? Get it? Because I'm a writer! Deb's so clever! Let's get a closer look...

She comes complete with a copy of my best selling book Because I Said So! LOL! And check out the belt! OK, here's the story behind the belt...

About 12 or so years ago, my aunt gave my sister and me two old rings that she'd had. She told us that we could each have one. Deb and I couldn't decide who would get which ring and joked that we could each take a ring and then just switch off now and then. Thus began our tradition of giving these rings back and forth to one another.

For about 12 years, for every holiday, birthday, or special occasion, we've given these rings to each other. When my sister got married, I tied the rings to the ring bearer's pillow at the rehearsal. One year, we were out to dinner for my birthday and when I looked away, my sister slipped a ring into my drink. One Valentine's Day, I carefully opened the cellophane on a heart shaped box of candy, put the ring in the box among the chocolates, wrapped the cellophane back around the box, and gave it to her. We've hidden them in plastic Easter eggs. Last year, Deb took a monster pencil topper and attached a ring (like a crown) on its head and put it in my stocking. These rings have been passed back and forth in the most hilarious ways for years. I think this one takes the cake though. There's no way I can give it back to Deb unless I break Penne Dawn or give her back the whole pasta creation. I'm going to have to think about this one.

41 comments:

Oh how very fun! Yay to Santa for making everyone happy at the Meehan household.

And the white elephant? Classic. I would *so* love to find something like that for the next one I have to attend.

And that Penne Dawn. Truly impressive. And VERY cool. You've got one awesome sister. I love the story of the ring because trust me -- there was a question coming about it otherwise ;)

OH OH OH! And while heading to Kohl's and Toys R Us and Costco to do some returning today (and pick up the pictures to put in my Christmas cards that I'll start sometime soon), I FOUND THE SONIC! Yay! Of course I had leftover lasagne for lunch so couldn't quite justify stopping, but ... it's SO close to my gym that I may have to stop there for a meal right umm after working out sometime soon. SO excited.

That is such an awesome tradition with the rings - love it! Penne Dawn is so cute, I love crafty things like that! It's my son's first Christmas too - my first son - and he was decked out, just like you said first kids are... Merry Christmas!

That's just cool! Maybe you could steam Penne Dawn to soften the noodles and get the ring off, then allow to cool and then dry back into place? I just read somewhere else on a message board that someone's (nonsmoking) mother got an orange plastic ashtray for Christmas one year, and ever since then it's gotten passed around as the family gag gift at Christmas.

My sister and I aren't quite as clever, but we have a tradition that whenever I go to her house I steal her magnet that says "4 basic food groups--chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, diet coke". Then she'll steal something from my house and send me a picture of it in grave danger (compliments of her sons). Then I send her a picture of her magnet with a ransom note. This practice goes back about 15 years when we had to use fax machines to send our messages. It's a little different each time, but SO much fun.

I am glad that someone has as great of a sis as me! I thought I was pretty lucky but geez, she is one crafty woman! Brooklyn looks really tall standing next to the tool bench! Your kids are gorgeous and glad to hear they had a good Christmas!

Dawn, I love the Inigo Montoya shirt. That is really awesome! And the ring tradition is great. I really wish my family had been like yours... all the craziness and literal white elephants notwithstanding. Hopefully, now that my husband and I have been blessed with our own little angel, we can come up with some wonderful and hilarious Christmas traditions of our own. Thank you for sharing!

My cousin and I do something simular with a fruit cake! Yes...a real fruit cake! We only do it at christmas though. If I get it, I out it in the freezer till next year and give it back to her. That same fruitcake has been passed back and forth for about 10 years now! I'm not sure it's even ediable anymore!! LOL

We quote lines from the Princess Bride all the time. I can totally appreciate the humor in that shirt.

Love all your pics. I was an awful mom this year and didn't take one photo. Shame on me!

Our family used to regift a glass plate. This plate was made for my father-in-law by a, not so close, family member that lives out of state. This plate had her face on it. It was truely awful. So of course we totally laughed at this gift.

That plate was passed back and forth for many years. I think it somehow got dropped...I'm sure it was an accident!

Dawn, a friend of mine emailed this to me and although I know you don't like us to forward things to you, I just couldn't resist copying this to send off to you. It has Dawn writen all over it! (Just change the number to 6 kids) LOL hope you enjoy: Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned, and cuddled my two children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor, sold 62 cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground, and figured out how to attach nine patches onto my daughter's Girl Scout sash with staples and a glue gun.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the n ext 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache after a day of chasing kids (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to carry a screaming toddler out of the candy aisle in the grocery store. I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year, I'd like a car with fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking daughter doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with one potty-trained toddler, two kids who don't fight, and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting, "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

And please don't forget the Playdoh Travel Pack, the stocking stuffer this year for mothers of preschoolers. It comes in three fluorescent colors and is guaranteed to crumble on any carpet making the In-laws' house seem just like mine.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family; or if my toddler didn't look so cute sneaking downstairs to eat contraband ice cream in his pajamas at midnight.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the chimney and come in and dry off by the fire so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table, but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,

Mom

and please feel free to use it in your SSO, I think there are lots of us out there that would appreciate it!

Hi Dawn!Sounds like you've had a very nice christmas!I just wanted to ask, did I offend you with my post and the link to the Mom Song? I noticed you first published my comment and then removed it.I hope I didn't hurt your feelings, if I did I'm sorry.Take care!

Sounds like a Great Christmas! I love the penne Dawn and the t-shirt. I love the ring tradition, what fun! I bet if you carefully separated the Penne Dawn you could stick her back together again. Just a thought.

Must be a sister thing. My sister and I pass a pair of hideous wooden tikis (apparently, I can't spell the item correctly) back and forth over the years. The current owner gets to sneak them creatively back to the other sister - like in my niece's overnight bag, or hidden in my sister's garden after a visit to their house.

I received a 'lovely' new small ceramic pair in my Christmas gift. (I think she can't find the wooden set.) Your rings are much nicer.

Also, the kids all look older. Thanks for sharing.Merry Christmas to the Meehans.

I appreciate the dissertation on the difference between first & sixth. While I am well aware of the difference, I have to ask: is it bad when the difference is discernable between first & *third*? Personally, I've chosen that as the signal that it's time to be done! ;-)